Thibodeau needs to sit him all the way to the start of the playoffs if need be. Same with Luol Deng, who missed Sunday’s game.

Whoever the Bulls face in the first round (likely Brooklyn or Indiana) their only chance at advancing is to have all their role players healthy and ready to go. The Nets have stumbled against elite competition, the Bulls could potentially grind them down in a series, but not without Noah, Deng and everyone else (plus a lot of the good Nate Robinson without so much of the bad one). So rest the guys and don’t worry about these games.